Hyundai and Kia invest $90 million in hypercar maker Rimac

Hyundai and sister company Kia announced that they are investing 80 million euros (about $90 million US) in Croatian electric hypercar startup Rimac.

The Korean automakers are anxious to gain access to Rimac's technology. They already have plans to build an electric prototype of one of Hyundai's N brand performance cars as well as a hydrogen fuel cell car by 2020.

No further details were announced about the cars. It is not clear how large a stake the two Korean companies have taken in Rimac.

Rimac

Wikipedia says of Rimac: "Rimac Automobili (pronounced [ rǐːmats automobǐːli ]) is a Croatian car manufacturer headquartered in Sveta Nedelja, Croatia, that develops and produces electric hypercars, drivetrains and battery systems. The company was founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac with the vision to create the sports car of the 21st century." Their Concept One is an example of their work.

The Concept One

The Concept One is an all-electric battery-powered sports car: "With a curb weight of 1,850 kg, and a power of 1,288 hp (960 kW), the Concept One can reach 100 km/h from a standstill in 2.6 seconds and continue to accelerate to the limit of 221 mph (355 km/h). 92 kWh of energy in the battery modules deliver enough thrust to permit a 600 km of range.[14] The car was first unveiled in 2011 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, when some parts were contracted to other companies.[15] The production version was introduced in 2016."

Originally 88 units were slated to be produced but this was later cut down to eight units. All the cars were sold at almost a million dollars for each. The EV is shown on the appended video. There is now a Concept Two.

RImac's designs and technology captured attention

British automakers Aston Martin and Jaguar have both used some Rimac technology in their limited-run EV project. Jaguar's i-Pace model shown in the appended photo won a car of the year award. Indian manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra is also powering its hypercar Pinfarina Battista using a Rimac battery pack.

Porsche which has its own EVs was so taken by Rimac's technology that it bought a ten percent stake in the company. Competitor in the hypercar area Koenigsegg uses Rimac's battery tech.

Hyundai and Kia's EVs

Both Hyundai and Kia have put a new electric SUV on the market in recent months. Both are among the most capable and most affordable EV SUV's available. Both vehicles share underlying technology. However, Rimac's tech could help both automakers make an EV that would be more suitable for the high performance demands of Hyundai's N models.